Trenches—
long, deep ditches dug as protective defenses
—are most often associated with World War I, and the results of trench warfare in that conflict were hellish indeed. Trenches were common throughout the Western Front. … But they became a fundamental part of strategy with the influx of modern weapons of war.
How would you describe trench warfare?
trench warfare,
warfare in which opposing armed forces attack, counterattack, and defend from relatively permanent systems of trenches dug into the ground
. The opposing systems of trenches are usually close to one another.
What were trenches like 3 facts?
Most trenches were between
1-2 metres wide and 3 metres deep
. Trenches weren’t dug in straight lines. The WWI trenches were built as a system, in a zigzag pattern with many different levels along the lines. They had paths dug so that soldiers could move between the levels.
What did the trenches smell like?
Some men disappeared into the mud because it was so thick. The trenches had a horrible smell. … They could smell
cordite
, the lingering odour of poison gas, rotting sandbags, stagnant mud, cigarette smoke, and cooking food.
What was everyday life like in the trenches?
Individuals spent only a few days a month in a front-line trench. Daily life here was
a mixture of routine and boredom
– sentry duty, kit and rifle inspections, and work assignments filling sandbags, repairing trenches, pumping out flooded sections, and digging latrines.
What was the area between the trenches called?
The area between the trench lines, known as ‘
no man’s land
‘, was the key ground, especially at night, for fierce combat between opposing front line troops, as patrols were sent out to gather information about their enemy’s defences.
Why did they build trenches in WW1?
World War I was a war of trenches. After the early war of movement in the late summer of 1914,
artillery and machine guns forced the armies on the Western Front to dig trenches to protect themselves
. Fighting ground to a stalemate. … British soldiers standing in water in a trench.
How did soldiers use dead bodies in the trenches?
Many men killed in the trenches were
buried almost where they fell
. If a trench subsided, or new trenches or dugouts were needed, large numbers of decomposing bodies would be found just below the surface. These corpses, as well as the food scraps that littered the trenches, attracted rats.
Did soldiers sleep in the trenches?
Most activity in front line trenches took place at night under cover of darkness. During daytime soldiers would try to get some rest, but
were usually only able to sleep for a few hours at a time
.
What did the rats in the trenches eat?
Robert Graves remarked in his book, Goodbye to All That: “Rats came up from the canal, fed
on the plentiful corpses
, and multiplied exceedingly.
How did rats affect the trenches explain?
Many men killed in the trenches were buried almost where they fell
. If a trench subsided, or new trenches or dugouts were needed, large numbers of decomposing bodies would be found just below the surface. One pair of rats can produce 880 offspring in a year and so the trenches were soon swarming with them. …
What are trenches in the hood?
:
a place or situation in which people do very difficult work These
people are working every day down in the trenches to improve the lives of refugees.
How long were soldiers in the trenches in ww1?
Soldiers rotated into and out of the front lines to provide a break from the stress of combat. They spent
four to six days
in the front trenches before moving back and spending an equal number of days in the secondary and, finally, the reserve trenches.
Do ww1 trenches still exist?
A few of these places are private or public sites with original or reconstructed trenches preserved as a museum or memorial. Nevertheless,
there are still remains of trenches to be found in remote parts of the battlefields
such as the woods of the Argonne, Verdun and the mountains of the Vosges.
What was in no man’s land?
the narrow, muddy, treeless stretch of land, characterized by numerous shell holes,
that separated German and Allied trenches during the First World War
. Being in No Man’s Land was considered very dangerous since it offered little or no protection for soldiers.
How many died in No Man’s Land?
Tragically, the men of the 42 Division had received little training in how to deal with gas attacks and suffered
417 casualties
. Sometimes as narrow as 15 yards or as wide as several hundred yards, No Man’s Land was heavily guarded by machine gun and sniper fire.
